Contribution to Casablana Group Project

For this project I was assertive and took the initiative in trying to get the Casablanca group to stay after class so we could schedule group meetings to discuss what each person wanted to talk about. I was able to organize 4 meetings, counting the one in which we will practice our presentation before class tomorrow. Those few people who consistently attended the meetings worked well together and we helped bounce ideas off each other. Since our group was big and many people had other responsibilities I was mostly able to work closely with one other student and we helped each other solidify our thoughts. Working this way allowed us to see things in a different way and aided in our understanding of the class material. Certain members were able to communicate by cell phone and/or email. I had to do both because we never were able to get everyone's numbers.

Here is what I will talk about in order to help my groups' presentation:

I am going to discuss how Ilsa’s character can be seen in various ways according to what we read in Chapter 9 of our Barker books. On page 307 Diana Meehan lists common stereotypes of women. I thought that Ilsa could be seen as a few of these because throughout the movie Casablanca it seems that she took on different roles.

I saw a few stereotypes in a certain scene. In the scene where Ilsa came to get the letters of transit and Rick at first says “No”, she pulls a gun on him which perhaps can be seen as what Meehan names “the decoy”, or someone who is “apparently helpless but actually strong”. But then she doesn’t follow through and tells Rick that she still loves him. He then accuses her of being what Meehan calls “the bitch”, which is a “sneak a cheat and/or manipulative”, thinking that she is saying this only to get what she wants. But then she falls into his arms and became the “victim”, and becomes “passive” as she tells Rick that “he has to think for the both of them now”, because her judgment is clouded with emotion.

But Ultimately I think Ilsa was the “good wife” because even though I believed she loved Rick more, she left him at the train station to go take care of her husband Laszlo. Then again at the end, even though I think she wanted to stay with Rick she left with Laszlo because this was the socially accepted norm. However, in a way I also saw “the decoy” in this scene because Ilsa understood the expectations of women at the time and even though she was sad, she stayed strong doing “what was right” of her.

Then I’m going to ask the class

“What do you guys think about Ilsa’s character?”

Work Cited

Barker, Chris. "Culturally Studies and Theory and Practice". 3rd ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 2008. (pg 307).
"Casablanca". Dir. Michael Curtis. Prod. Hal B. Wallis. Dist. Warner Bros. 1942.

Heres a couple clips from "Out Cold" that resemble the 'bar scene' in Casablanca as well as imitating the ending.